By: Kim Manahan(Whetstone Staff Writer)

Kim Manahan

Kim Manahan

“Great things await…”

If someone had told me that five years ago, I probably would have looked back at them and laugh. Actually, I would probably have laughed at them when they said it.

Sounds like something out of a bad movie.

After the unveiling of Wesley’s new marketing scheme at the end of the Founder’s Day ceremony, I have heard people say that one of our marketing students could have done a better job – and for a lot less money.

Wesley received a grant of more than $113,000 to give to a marketing company  to create a slogan, advertisements and so on, and they came up with three words: “Great things await.”

I’m not an expert on marketing and branding or what kind of research was conducted, but I’m convinced that one of our marketing students could have definitely come up with something less corny.

So what awaits at Wesley that is so great?

Some of the professors here are amazing, yes; there are good student organizations, yes; and if you can throw a football, your grades don’t seem to matter much – so there is hope for those who nearly flunked out of high school.

What else though?

If a prospective student reads this, here are some things I can contribute that they may not tell you before you come here:

n      The food is not as good as what they served you at Open House. It has improved over the years, yes, and it’s actually pretty good now, but there won’t be as many choices on a regular basis.

n      If they show you Malmberg Hall during your tour, chances are you will be living in Gooding or Williams halls. They showed us Carpenter Hall back in 2006 – which caused a rude awakening when I moved into Roe with the paper-thin walls.

n      Scenic downtown Dover may be on one side of campus, but if you go the other way, you better not walk alone. Actually, a video of the brawl that happened on South New Street just a few weeks ago went viral on YouTube via The Smoking Gun website.

n      We have a below-average graduation rate, and a below-average retention rate.

Do you think the marketing folks took these things into account when they made their decisions on what would work best for Wesley?

No – because then Wesley would not seem so appealing.

While the advertisement may be true, it is also false; as is those of any other college. No one wants to make themselves look bad, but false advertisements are misleading.

Any higher education institution needs money to run, non-profit or not – so any institution is going to try to attract as many people as possible. 

So take the new slogan or brand with a grain of salt – like you would anything else that is branded: it’s one-sided.